The Symbolism of Autumn and the Decline of Civilization in Khareef Ishbiliya by Walid Saif

Abstract

Objectives: This study investigates the symbolic function of autumn in Walid Saif Khareef Ishbiliya, considering it as both an artistic and semantic device for unveiling the dialectic of rise and decline within Andalusian civilization. Autumn is treated as a historical paradigm underscoring the inevitability of decay in the presence of fragmentation and disunity. The study also highlights the figure of al-Mu‘tamid ibn ‘Abbād as a representation of al-Andalus’s transition from glory to collapse, in order to illustrate the manner in which the novelist projects seasonal symbolism onto the destinies of both individuals and societies.

Methods: The research adopts an analytical framework grounded in semiotic methodology, focusing on textual thresholds as well as the symbolic structure of the title and the cover, and examining their semantic implications in relation to the concept of civilizational decline.

Results: The study concludes that Saif’s novel offers a narrative model that interweaves historical reference with artistic imagination, thereby dramatizing a moment of civilizational downfall that transcends its historical context to emerge as a recurrent and universal human signifier.